display stops working and shows grey lines

I have a model A1226 macbook pro with a display that stopped working suddenly- the display shows vertical gray lines and a gray background, sort of like the video signal is bad. I can connect the laptop to an external screen, and that works fine.

I took the laptop to an apple repair shop here in belgium and they said that the display needs to be replaced, and that my model is not eligible for the nvidia chip hardware extension since the external display can be connected to the laptop without problems.

is there a way I can figure out if the video cable is bad or the display itself is bad, and where can I get a replacement display for the laptop?

1 Answer

Because you successfully connected it to an external display, you know the chip is good. When you have the grey background, is it lit up, or is it very faint, almost requiring a flashlight to see the image? If it's dark and not lit up, and you do have an image (which it sounds like you don't), then it's most likely the inverter cable. If there is a backlight, and the image is just distorted or not visible, then you're stuck in the video cable/screen quandary, and it could be either. I usually start with the cable, just because it's cheaper, although I'd have to say that more often than not it ends up being the screen itself.

Does the image change when you move the screen back and forth? If so, that may be evidence that it's the video cable (or inverter cable) being crimped, and otherwise it's probably evidence that it's the screen itself.

You can find the cable or screen for your model by plugging your model number into the part finder section of this website.